you're watching abc eyewitness news in high definition. a bay area lawmaker catches a break on shoplifting charges. what she says is to blame for her actions. a deal for unemployed homeowners. the new policy that could keep people from losing their homes. can you really shoot someone that breaks into your house? who does the law protect? she walked out of a store without paying for a bunch of fancy clothes. and today, that woman, a bay area lawmaker, walked out of court with a slap on the wrist. the assemblywoman represents the east bay and trivalley. linda yee tells us, her attorney blamed it in part on a brain tumor. >> mary admits she walked out of neimann marcus without paying, but the assemblywoman

decided not to fight the charge anymore. last october, police arrested her for stealing a leather skirt and other clothing worth $2500. her attorney told prosecutors she has a treatable brain tumor, which may have impacted her decision making abilities. today in court, the felony grand theft charges were reduced to a misdemeanor. >> mary's attorneys let the prosecutors know that the brain tumor was something that occurred to her, may have been an issue, but she is not using that as an excuse. she always admitted she was forgetful, she was distracted. today she pled no contest and moving forward on a very successful political career. >> i have to ask you though, if something like this, like a brain tumor can impact her decision making abilities, is she fit to serve? >> she has been one of the stellar members of the state legislature with or without a brain tumor, she is a great elected leader. she made a mistake. >> brain tumors can cause

bizarre behavior. >> those are some of the symptoms, but in this particular case that you are discussing, it's actually a tendency not to resist temptation. it's a clepto mania behavior. >> some voters are skeptical. >> it has nothing to do with it. >> i still don't buy it, no. not at all. >> could she survive this politically? >> leeland yee did. >> he stole or allegedly stole suntanning lotion. >> but voters are, they have short memories and if a person shows amends and is contrite and is doing a good job for his or her constituents, that's usually number one. >> the shoplifting charge against leeland yee was dropped. she may still run for political office again. but it could be a tough road. >> now her attorneys have opened up an entirely new line with the brain tumor thing and

i can't comment on whether that is accurate or what. but she has played that card and okay, so if she were to run for election again, it's going to come up and somebody is going to say, aren't you sick? >> assemblywoman was sentenced to three years court probation, must pay $180 in fees and fines and was ordered to stay at least 50 feet away from neimann marcus. reporting live, linda yee, cbs 5. >> ross will be sworn in as the san francisco sheriff this weekend, but tonight, police are investigating him as part of a domestic violence case. a neighbor reported an indent involving his wife over new year's weekend. the da isn't talking about this and neither is ross. but his wife released a statement saying that the allegations are false and ross has never been abusive to her. the big economic news all day has been the jobs report.

the unemployment rate fell to 8.5%. many jobs were seasonal work for christmas, but anthony mason tells us, if you dig a bit deeper, there is reason for real optimism. in fact, 23,000 reasons. >> december's hiring surge was led it by the transportation sector, which added 50,000 jobs. most were cur courier. >> what do you think of this number? >> it's a solid number. >> liked the gain in manufacturing jobs. 23,000 of them. >> those are good jobs. good high quality jobs. >> manufacturing has been an unexpected bright spot in the recovery. after shedding workers for a dozen straight years,

manufactures have added jobs the past two. in illinois, business at bye son gear and engineering is up. >> 10 to 12 percent this year. >> the company makes gearboxes and motors for everything from popcorn machines to treadmills. he has 250 employees and he's hiring. >> last year we hired just over 20 folks and this year we could be hiring about the same again. >> but overall, economists expect only modest growth this year and warn there are still plenty of head winds out there. >> we're in an election year, does that affect hiring? >> it's not a good force on hiring, let's just say that. there's uncertainty about who is going to come in and what policies they'll put in place and how that's going to affect costs of employing people. but to the extent we might otherwise be building some momentum, it's probably serving as a bit of a restraining factor. >> under employment rate which includes part-time workers and people who recently gave up

looking for a job fell again. it's still at 15.2%. and more than 5.5 million americans have been out of work for six months or more. anthony mason, cbs news, new york. the jobs news is certainly welcome news for president obama. he credited his jobs agenda for this growth. he also said the payroll tax cut that was put in place helped and urged congress to extend it. >> when congress returns, they should extend the middle class tax cut for all of this year. to make sure we keep this recovery going. it's the right thing to do. there should not be delay. there should not be a lot of drama that we should get it done. >> obama's gop rivals like mitt romney said 35 months of unemployment above 8% is no cause for celebration. job numbers may be improving, but many americans are still struggling.

mortgage finance giant, freddie mac, is offering homeowners who lose their jobs a break. they can skip payments on loans for up to a full year. but as kit shows us, freddie mac's generosity may not be out of the kindness of its heart. >> mortgage giant, freddie mac, is giving borrowers it hasn't in a long time. time. if you have a loan and you lose your job, your mortgage payments could be reduced to up to a year. that's up from the current limit of six months. >> they did this because they had to. >> absolutely. we've been asking them to do right by folks for a long time. >> gina gates lost her home to foreclosure and become a reform activist, meeting with numerous banks. harris sued the agency, demanding answers about its involvement in the housing meltdown. >> the reason we are getting response, it is not because

they woke up today or yesterday and said this was a great idea. we want to help folks. no uncertain terms do i believe that this is because the attorney general filed 51 subpoenas against them. and they have to react. >> it's important to note the loan must be repaid in full. including the interest. anna elizabeth says the extra time will be a big stress relief. >> it makes a huge defense, allowing the extra time to be able to go on more interviews, submit more applications and hopefully something would come up that offers them that stable income. >> unemployment is to blame for one in ten late mortgage payments and freddie mac says today's announcement will help get back on track. gates hopes other lenders will make the same changes. >> we are happy, but i mean, what about all of those homeowners who don't have this benefit? >> in san jose, cbs 5.

>> hundreds of people said good-bye to a five-year-old boy. they packed st. elizabeth's church to remember gabriel. he was playing outside of his father's taco truck in oakland last week when someone shot and killed him. >> he loved. he didn't know you and if you didn't know him, you would know him because he would tell you, hey, i'm gabriel, come play with me. >> he was playful. we used to go over there, riding horses. >> there have been no arrests in this case. gabriel is the third child shot to death in oakland in the last five months. other bay area headlines now, fremont mayor was being remembered as one of the most significant and respected people in the city's history. 500 people attended his funeral today at the harbor light church. he was mayor fremont from 2004

until his death last week at the age of 77. san francisco police have arrested a 32-year-old man they say raped three women in the mission. the violent assaults happened between june and december of last year on or near 24th street. detectives say they have dna evidence. ford motor company is coming to silicon valley. the company will open a research lab to look for new ways to inte great phones and other personal devices. the lab is set to open in the next few months. well, there's a new barn in the east bay that is a throwback to old school road houses. honor bar and grill cocktails. when you walk in, you can grab a cold one from a metal tub at the door and when you're ready to leave, you tell the bartender how many you've had. >> i have a place to come to to grab a bite with coworkers,

unwind, grab some quality drinks without having to drive to the city or deal with a crowd. >> the bar also offers fried chicken by the bucket. the modern road house is the creation of the same people behind the beach shalet in san francisco. homeowner versus robber. can you really shoot an intruder? who the law protects. and america to the rescue. the favor the united states just did for iran.

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yourself, and your family fm an how far can you go to protect yourself and your family from an intruder? that's what we wanted to know after a 90-year-old marin county man shot an armed burglar in his home. joe on what he says the law can do when your life is in danger. >> jay says he did what he had to do to survive.

>> right in the head? >> i went, pow, pow. >> after a burglar busted in his front door and held the 90- year-old at gunpoint, he tricked the gunman into letting him go to the bathroom. that's where he stashed away his 357. the burglar shot first. then pleaded for his own life. >> i looked him straight in the eye. i said, don't kill me, don't kill me. >> he shot the burglar three times. he was clearly defending himself, but could he face criminal charges? >> not at all. why? the intruder come in, put a gun on his head. >> sarah lives beneath him. she heard the gun shots and realizes they barely missed her. of course, she doesn't think her neighbor should be in trouble with the law. >> you need to wait to be shot first and then be dead and then

what? >> and some say you must retreat. >> cbs 5 legal analyst says in some states, homeowners can get criminally charged for shooting an intruder instead of running away, but not in california, because here we have the castle doctrine. >> what the doctrine essentially does is say if you are in your residence or in your castle. you do not have to retreat if there is an intruder in your home. you may use deadly force to defend yourself before you have to run away or hide or try and lock the door or get away from that person. >> henderson says the castle doctrine applies in the case of sarah mckinley of oklahoma. she's an 18-year-old mom with an infant. on new year's eve, two men were trying to get inside her home. she had a shotgun and when she called 911, she asks for advice. >> you have to do whatever you can do to protect yourself. i can't tell you that you can

do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby. >> cbs 5. republican presidential candidate, john huntsman is fighting mad that ron paul supporters have posted an ad of him speaking chinese to his adopted daughter. the ad questions whether huntsman is committed to quote, american values. huntsman is a former ambassador to china and speaks fluent chinese. he calls the ad student and says he is offended that paul supporters would target his daughter. the two countries are not exactly close friends, but when an iranian fishing boat was hijacked by pirates, it was the u.s. navy to the rescue. tara mergener has more on this rescue mission. >> u.s. navy rescued a fishing boat from iran that had been taken over by pirates in the

northern araban sea. commanders say 50 pirates seized the boat more than 40 days ago. the fishing boat's captain issued a distress call and a team from the uss kid responded. the pirates surrender without a fight. >> we fund mentally recaptured the ship and took the pirates into custody and returned the ship to iranian control. >> the rescue effort came just days after iranian commanders took a bold stance against the u.s. threatening to close down the strait of hormoos and telling a u.s. warship not to come back. >> in an interview for sunday's face the nation, defense secretary told cbs's bob shaefer the mission should send a message to iran. >> it makes it clear to them that despite how much they often try to provoke us, that the united states is going to

respond as we should in a very humanitarian way. >> the rescue operation caps a week of growing tensions between tehran and the u.s. after president obama signed tough new sanctions into law. the measures are designed to punish iran for moving forward with its nuclear program, making it harder for iran to sell its oil. tara for cbs news, the white house. it appears yore appears joran van der sloot. a five-day delay to decide how to plead. he is ready to confess to the woman's 2010 death, but he does not accept the aggravated murder charges. he is also the prime suspect of the death of natalie holloway. he was never charged. here's something you may want to forget after you hear it.

age related memory loss can start much sooner than previously thought. for years, experts thought changes in memory began closer to the age of 60. now british researchers found mental and memory decline can begin as early as age 45. the ten year study of 7,000 people find memory declines in younger people were not as severe as an older people, but they were definitely there. >> let's go ahead and head on out to the veteran's memorial building in oakland. where currently it's in the mid 40s. now the day that will be the windiest and the day that will be the warmest. the pinpoint forecast as eyewitness news continues. ,,,,,,,,,,

good evening and welcome back to cbs 5. we're going to head outside to our live camera because i want you to take a good look with 17,000 lights. good look at it because on sunday night, they are dimming the lights for the holiday season. i know. officially coming to an end right here in the bay area and the ice rink closes sunday night as well. currently outside, we have

dipped down into the 30s in santa rosa. air temperature there, 37 degrees. and we do have about one mile visibility of fog. meanwhile, other notable temperatures are into the 40s. we do continue to see the fog developing in the north bay, just north of the golden gate bridge. otherwise temperatures overnight into the 30s and 40s. tonight some areas of patchy fog, where we have sufficient low level moisture. increasing winds on saturday, fire danger increases as well. gusty winds saturday afternoon. take a look at our future cast wind scale. most of the winds are generated right around the delta. 14-mile per hour winds in san jose. the winds will continue to increase during the afternoon and evening hours. back for sunday as we see the set up of an offshore flow. sure, a weak disturbance blew through today. no precipitation. all the precipitation continues to ride well to the area of

high pressure and it looks like it will remain that way for the next seven, possibly ten days. we'll get to that. but first, temperatures slightly going up tomorrow into the 60s across the board. the warmest day this weekend will be on sunday. less wind, dry conditions through monday and then no rain in the foreseeable future through friday. we are calling for a chance of rain, perhaps by monday of next week. of course we'll stay on top of that in the cbs 5 weather center. we have kim coming up with sports. the raiders have a new general manager and he's not waiting until the playoffs to get started. and could nate robinson be the spark the warriors have been looking for? find out next in sports.

it's been a rough road for the warriors. they ended their losing streaks in spheex streaks in phoenix and san antonio. andre joining currie in street clothes. both out with sprained ankles. made his warriors debut. he had 9 points in 31 minutes

off the bench. kobe bryant took over in the third. mamba gets the friendly roll. the tough fade away and drills the 3 at the buzzer. he had 17 of his 39 points in the quarter to put the lakers up 9. montae did his best. the jumper makes it a four- point game. 18 points and 10 assists, but the lakers had too much down the stretch. kobe finds a wide open, puts l.a. back up. 17-11. the lakers win 97-90. the warriors have now lost four straight. for many of the 49ers, this will be their first trip to the post season in the nfl. for safety, it goes back even further. he hasn't been to the playoffs since high school. >> this is my first time. i'm excited about it.

we have a good chance. >> here are the scenarios for the opponent. if new orleans beats detroit, the 49ers will host the saints. if new orleans loses tomorrow, then the 49ers will play the winner of the giants, falcons game. >> you have a plan in place? >> no, not as far as getting together and having the party or anything. but i think myself, i'll be watching on my couch at home and interested in a win and who we're going to be playing. >> raiders have made it official. reggie is their new general manager. the former packers director of football operations will be introduced on tuesday. maybe the mascot at cal, but the men's basketball team has their own unofficial mascot. franklin. harper bulldog become a regular at the gym. etch mike montgomery has become a fan of franklin and he kicks

off the friday night top five. >> i think franklin is an acquired taste. you know, he's funny, because you just laugh at him. he waddles and slobbers. you don't know where to pet him without getting wet and dirty. >> all right, franklin is cute, but he can't do this, the mascot plays a little double or nothing. and number three, aj price gives it to paul george. the pacers win in boston for the first time since 2007. and number two, brown struggles at the free throw line, continues thanks to two lane violations. he missed four in a row. he is shooting 38% for the season. >> and at number one, the pga season begins with tournament of champions. last year's pga winner with the shot of the day. he is two shots back of the leader, jonathan byrd, tiger is

not there. it's a tournament of champions, but he is going to play at pebble beach. >> ouch. >> we'll be right back.

just talk about the 49ers. no game this weekend, but